The Importance of Time-Management

Introduction:

There have been several instances where you may have had issues in terms of completing a task. From assignments to other activities that may appear in your life, you’ve most likely had issues in completing everything effectively and efficiently. As common as it is, it is also quite difficult to fully fix and eliminate procrastination habits that hinder your ability to create an effective schedule.

Procrastination:

Procrastination is the act of putting aside work for a later time, typically later in the day or sometime during the week. There are times when it is necessary to take breaks and schedule things evenly across our day, but oftentimes we tend to completely diverge from our original plan. Think of a time you have needed to study for a test. You’ve probably mapped out several steps in your head,

• Go home and take a 15-minute break

• Take a shower

• Study for an hour

• Take a break

• Repeat steps 3 and 4 until nighttime.

It seems trivial yet super complex to actually carry out. While we may have thought it out perfectly, our bodies do not work in that manner. Other variables may appear during the day that may have tired you more than you thought, and other tasks that may have completely shifted your schedule a couple of hours. Even if nothing happens that drastically changes your schedule, the exhaustion from the school day will keep you from executing a proper study session, because your mind wants to relax and watch something. When you envision something you do not want to do, you think of all of the enduring tasks you have to complete, and the sheer amount of time it might take to effectively finish it. This thought process is natural because we want to follow the easiest path and mitigate as much work as possible. However, there are times when we will need to take proper initiative to see desirable results.

Steps For Improvement:

Completely fixing procrastination is near impossible due to several factors we may not be able to control. However, there are important steps we can take to ensure that we are finishing important tasks first and with optimal effort. First, try to picture yourself after finishing a task, think of the joy and esteem you will receive after completing an enduring activity; it will make you feel proud and happy that you’ve tried your hardest to complete it, and the results most likely paid off. Secondly, you need to question yourself on the consequences of not finishing a task. It may scare you at first, but it should be a lesson not to waste valuable time. For example, if you have an exam the next day, tell yourself that you’ll most likely fail or receive an unwanted grade if you do not study properly. Hopefully, your thoughts will open, and you will realize that you will need to try your hardest in order to get a good score on that exam. Finally, you will need to force yourself to stand up. It sounds easy, but this is often the most difficult thing in challenging procrastination. Whenever you feel unproductive or lazy, try to immediately stand up or turn off your phone and start to work on something. Try to work for a couple of minutes, and if necessary, take a break, but you should get into the habit of working productively for around an hour without needing a break.

Time-Management

With several young teenagers and adults attending school and work, there is bound to be several scheduling conflicts and times when we will most likely not be able to take a break at all. Especially near heavy exams or working seasons, there are weeks where you will have to work several hours without any breaks, and if you fail to do so, the consequences can be rough. This is an important reason why scheduling and effectively managing your time can be a huge positive for everyone. It allows you to map out your day. If a change happens, that's fine; try to stick to the original schedule if possible. Take short 5-10 breaks in between different sessions, and try to finish important tasks first. On weekends, do not force yourself to finish any work; try your best to recover for the next week.